


practice

by miacantwrite



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Awkward Kissing, Best Friends, Cliche, Cuddling & Snuggling, Denial of Feelings, Dorks in Love, Eyes, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Moirails to Matesprits, No Spoilers, Pining, Snow, dave is very very gay, john is a bisexual in denial, stupid little babies. i love them, yes i know its not winter yet shut up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26152522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miacantwrite/pseuds/miacantwrite
Summary: dave's home is messy black hair and thick glasses, and the stupidly large overbite that shows whenever he smiles. it's talking to each other on pesterchum until the sun rises and watching shitty movies together on video call.home is the way their bodies press against one another, fitting together like puzzle pieces, like they've done this millions of times before. home is the whisper of dave's name against his lips in between kisses and how it makes his stomach flutter. home is the hand shakily reaching up to stroke against his cheek, touching him like he's something precious, like he's made of porcelain ready to shatter.home is john egbert. his best friend, and the boy he's fallen in love with.(john needs kissing practice, and what kind of best friend would dave be if he didn't help out?)
Relationships: John Egbert/Dave Strider
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	practice

**Author's Note:**

> johndave brainrot
> 
> (WARNING: it's very short and not that graphic, but this story does go into a little bit of detail about dave's trauma. this includes themes of starving, physical abuse and that weird puppet porn website bro runs. please stay safe.)

“can i... talk to you for a minute?”

the dark haired boy shivers, smiling awkwardly, and dave tries his best to conceal the dumbfounded expression on his face.

there's practically a blizzard outside, and even with all the layers he’s wearing, the cold still chills dave’s bones as he looks down at his best friend. the only extra clothing john’s wearing is a thin cardigan, and dave can’t tear his eyes away from the small flakes of snow stuck in his hair.

“holy shit, john,” dave says in disbelief. “it’s, like, 10 degrees. couldn’t we have talked on pesterchum?”

“no,” john replies, eyebrows furrowing behind his foggy glasses. “i need to talk to you in person.”

“well, can you come in then?” dave asks impatiently. “you’re gonna freeze to death out there.

john practically sprints through the door, sitting down over one of the heater vents on the floor and hugging his knees. the sight vaguely reminds dave of an elderly woman.

“are you okay, man?” dave kneels down next to him. 

john gives him a shaky grin, face flushed from the cold. “yeah. i think.”

“dave? who was that?” 

dave jumps as he hears his bro call out to him from the other room. “jehovah’s witness.” he yells back, before grabbing john’s hand and leading him upstairs to his room.

they both sit in silence for a little while, john sitting on his bed and awkwardly looking around at the posters spread across the walls before speaking up.

“so,” he says, picking his words out carefully, "you... know a lot about dating and stuff, right?”

“hell yeah i do. if you’re looking for a wingman, you’ve come to the right place.”

john’s gaze is glued to the floor. “so, then... you’ve probably done a lot of... y’know... kissing, right?

 _no._ “yeah, of course.”

“well, um, i’ve been thinking about doing that with... a girl i like, but i don’t really know how.”

“oh.” dave waits a few seconds before responding. “is this about rose?”

john looks a little startled by the statement, but he nods along. “right, yeah! rose! that’s it.” it seems a little strange, but dave reckons it’s probably just him being a dork.

“well, what do you want me to do about it?” dave shrugs. “i’d give you a demonstration, but there’s nobody here for me to kiss.”

john winces and fiddles with his hands, eyes still focused on the floor. 

“what? why are you so nervous? it’s not like we’re gonna—“

he pauses as the realisation kicks in, a shocked expression settling on his face. “oh. wait, do you want me to—“

“just a little bit!” john interrupts, face turning bright red. “i just... need some practice. that’s all.”

“so you decided to ask me?”

“well, i didn’t wanna ask rose to do it all of a sudden, and i obviously can’t do it with jade, so that only really leaves you, i guess. i figured doing it with you would be the least awkward option, but if you don't wanna do it...”

they both sit in silence for a while longer, unable to look at each other. 

dave takes a deep breath. “then sure. i can show you.” 

john looks over at him, eyes wide in shock as he sits next to him on the bed. “wait, really?”

“yeah. i mean, we’re both friends. it isn’t that weird.”

slowly, he reaches out to cup john's face in his hand. he leans in a little closer, tilting his head a little so their noses don't bump against each other.

"you're too tense," he whispers against john's lips, and the latter whimpers a little. "try relaxing your muscles." 

john lets his shoulders slump. "good," dave murmurs gently. "now open your mouth a little."

slowly yet surely, john's lips part, and dave takes the opportunity to close the gap between them.

it's extremely awkward, their glasses pushing up against each other uncomfortably as they kiss, but john doesn't seem to mind. in fact, he almost seems to be enjoying it, judging by the way his hands grip onto dave's shirt for dear life. _he's probably just pretending that he's kissing rose,_ dave tries to convince himself.

after a few seconds john breaks the kiss, taking his glasses off and placing them on the bedside table. dave's never really noticed it before, but when john isn't wearing his glasses his eyes go all small and squinty. _it's cute,_ a small part of his brain pipes up, but he pushes that thought to the back of his mind.

john reaches out to take dave's sunglasses, slowly lifting them up off his face. his eyes widen a little, and dave looks down in embarrassment. "yeah, i know. they're weird. i tried wearing colored contacts, but they made my eyes all irritated and shit and--"

"dave," john's voice is barely a whisper, eyes glazed and half-lidded. "kiss me again."

and he does.

it feels just a little more natural now. dave can feel the warmth of the other boy's face against his, and the lack of glasses makes it just a tiny bit easier to pretend he isn't playing tonsil hockey with his best friend.

dave _really_ hopes he seems like more of an expert than he actually is right now. as cool and collected as he tries to keep himself in situations like this, his brain can't seem to get over the fact that he's kissing _john fucking egbert,_ and his stomach flutters as he gently runs his tongue over the dark-haired boy's bottom lip, feeling his body tense up against his. his heart aches in an odd, nostalgic sort of way, like this is an old memory he's missed, like returning home after years at sea.

 _home._ even after 13 years, the word still seems foreign to him, and it's only now he's realised why. home has never been a shitty little apartment with a leaky roof and limitless puppet decor and a brother he hates. it's never been waking up starving or covering webcams with duct tape or flinching at the sound of metal.

dave's home is messy black hair and thick glasses, and the stupidly large overbite that shows whenever he smiles. it's talking to each other on pesterchum until the sun rises and watching shitty movies together on video call.

home is the way their bodies press against one another, fitting together like puzzle pieces, like they've done this millions of times before. home is the whisper of dave's name against his lips in between kisses and how it makes his stomach flutter. home is the hand shakily reaching up to stroke against his cheek, touching him like he's something precious, like he's made of porcelain ready to shatter.

home is john egbert. his best friend, and the boy he's fallen in love with.

it feels like months have passed when their lips finally part. john's face is flushed, lips wet and trembling as he looks back at dave with squinted eyes.

_perfect. he's perfect._

he practically collapses into dave's arms, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his head into dave's shoulder.

"i love you," he whispers shakily into dave's neck. "i love you, dave."

 _why?_ tears well up in dave's eyes as he hugs john back. "i love you too."

the sun begins setting over the horizon, and they can hear bro yelling out to dave for dinner, but neither of them mind.

they'd rather just stay home for now.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are very much appreciated!!


End file.
